


Thwarted Plans

by spowell Count Dracula series (SPowell)



Series: Count Dracula [15]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Blood Drinking, F/F, M/M, Mind Control, Vampires, Victorian era, dark!fic, enslavement, evil!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 01:31:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2754569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SPowell/pseuds/spowell%20Count%20Dracula%20series
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A visit to the fiancee. Arthur's plans are thwarted. Arthur yearns for the Count.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thwarted Plans

Arthur set his hat in the hallway, thanking the maid.

“My mistress has company,” the girl told him. “They are in the parlour. I’ll tell her you’re here, Sir.”

“No, Prudence. Let it be a surprise.”

The maid nodded and took his cloak.

As Arthur walked toward the parlour, he practiced what he would say: that he’d been doing a lot of thinking; that in the event of Gaius’ unexpected death, it would be imprudent to wait until Christmas to wed; that they should do so immediately and take their honeymoon in his villa in the south of France. This would put them out of harm’s way for a while so that Arthur could think.

He opened the double doors to the parlour, eyes immediately lighting upon the long-familiar face of his fiancée, who arose from the settee with a look of surprise and delight.

“Arthur!” She smiled and walked to him, holding out her hands. He took them and kissed each of her cheeks.

“Gwendolyn, you look well.”

“I am, Arthur. I was getting worried. I expected you to arrive last week, and when I didn’t hear from you…”

“I’m sorry. It’s a long story.”

“Oh, where are my manners?” Gwendolyn stood aside. “Arthur, I’ve just met these ladies this morning.”

Arthur froze in dread at the sight of the three sisters dressed in conventional clothes, drinking tea from Gwendolyn’s china cups. Morgana gave him a sly smile.

“Hello, Mr. Pendragon. We’ve heard so much about you from Gwendolyn.”

“Arthur, this is Morgana Newton and her sisters Yvette and Marcella. They’ve recently moved into the area, and we met rather serendipitously on my stroll through the park this morning with Father. Oh, and Arthur, I’m sure you’ve heard about poor Gaius? Isn’t it tragic?” She peered up at Arthur with teary brown eyes.

Arthur nodded curtly, still in shock over the unexpected appearance of the sisters. His blood chilled at the implied threat of it.

“Poor dear.” Gwendolyn clutched at his arm. “I know how much you thought of him.” She looked to the sisters. “He was like a father to Arthur.”

The sisters gave Arthur sympathetic looks.

“Oh, but Arthur—I do have some good news. This is why I said meeting these three lovely ladies was serendipitous. I have been telling them of my brother’s situation, and they’ve been kind enough to offer Elyan a position on their cousin’s ship, sight unseen!”

Arthur stared at Morgana, ire rising within him.

“Arthur?”

“Cousin?” Arthur managed to grit out.

Morgana delicately set her china cup down on the tray and got to her feet. “My cousin Leander has a shipping firm and is in dire need of a first mate for his ship going out tomorrow for the orient. Gwendolyn tells us her brother hasn’t been able to find a post on a ship for quite some time.”

“Isn’t that amazing, Arthur?” Gwendolyn smiled. “It’s as though God sent them to me today.”

 _Not God,_ Arthur thought.

“Come, Sisters, it’s time for us to be getting back.” Morgana walked to Gwendolyn and took her hand. Arthur watched, horrified, as Gwendolyn’s face suffused with colour at the touch. Why was she blushing so?

“Thank you for your hospitality, dear girl.” Morgana’s eyes seemed to devour Gwendolyn’s features. Her sisters came to stand close to them.

Arthur cleared his throat loudly, and Morgana pulled her eyes from Gwendolyn’s face.

“Goodbye, Arthur. I’m sure we’ll see you again soon. Perhaps the two of you will dine with us. We’ll send an invitation.”

“That would be lovely!” Gwendolyn smiled broadly.

“We’ll see ourselves out,” Morgana said. “I’m sure you to want to get reacquainted.”

They left, closing the parlour doors behind them.

“Oh, Arthur, it’s so good to have you home again!” Gwendolyn threw her arms around him, and Arthur held her, body stiff. Theirs was a platonic relationship at the best of times, and now, having tasted real passion, Arthur felt more than ever as though he were embracing his sister. He gave her back a couple of pats before releasing her.

“I do hope the sisters will invite us over. I found them ever so intriguing, didn’t you?” Gwen pressed her cheek to his chest and sighed. She seemed more dreamily happy than he’d ever seen her.

“To be sure,” he muttered, letting Gwendolyn go and crossing the room to pour himself a cup of tea. “Where is your father?”

“He’s napping.” Gwendolyn perched on the chair opposite. “Arthur, do tell about your journey and the Count. Is he as mysterious as people say? And why didn’t you write?”

“They didn’t have adequate postal services,” Arthur replied, leaning back with his cup. “And yes, Count Dracula is quite mysterious.” The thought of the Count brought Arthur hard in seconds. He reached up and rubbed at his neck.

“What does he look like? Is he old?” Gwendolyn loved details, and she stared at him raptly.

“Oh, no. He’s quite young. Our age.”

“Handsome?”

“Very.”

“How so?”

Arthur conjured a vision of Dracula in his mind. “Dark, wavy hair. Large, blue eyes—quite clear. Pillowy lips and sharp, high cheekbones. Tall, broad shouldered with slim hips and long legs.” Arthur stopped himself before he found himself describing the dark hair on those legs or the thatch of it between them. He looked down, hiding a blush of desire.

“Oh, my. And he isn’t married?”

“No.” Arthur shook his head, remembering the Count’s words ‘blood mate’ and suppressing a shiver of longing.

“I wonder why.”

“It’s quite secluded out there.”

“What did you do other than legal work?”

Arthur thought about what he did and his cheeks coloured more intensely.

“The Count had an extensive library, fortunately.” Arthur cleared his throat. “Tell me about what you’ve been up to.”

Gwendolyn chattered about her society meetings and her father’s health for a half hour until Arthur deemed he’d spent enough time there and bid her goodbye, promising to visit on the morrow.

His neck and groin ached. He'd noticed in the bath that the bite marks had healed up, but now the places where they'd been pounded painfully. He wanted the Count, but he’d be damned if he’d go to Carfax Manor. Arthur directed his carriage home and sat surly in the back of it, one hand pressed to his groin, the other to his neck, miserably staring out at the foggy London evening.

 

 

t

**Author's Note:**

> In case it isn't obvious, Gwendolyn=Gwen.


End file.
